High CPU Temp..........

[Harshu]

Here in INDIA summer is on its way and the temp reaches to 40-42 c outside. The room temp is near 28 to 30 C. But my CPU is getting really hot. The CPU temp (One side of the case opened) reaches to 64 C under 100% CPU utilization (The UD agent for Cancer research is running). Idle temp remains at 57 C. If i close the case the temp reaches to 69 C under load and 63 C Idle. Two intake fans r insde the case. One at the Bottom and One just behind the CPU. The Exhaust is through PSU fan only. Why the temp r so high. I have Athlon XP 2000+ (.18 vesion) on a ASUS A7N266 VM mobo. It the CPU Damaged. The heat sink is same which came with the CPU. Running at 5200RPM. Any suggestions.

[RamonGTP]

you need ATLEAST one more exhaust fan, if not two. The PSU fan is not there to cool down the case, but to keep the PSU from frying itself. The CPU won't get damaged until you reach around 80C, but you will start getting instability right around the temps you're getting right now. You can also take that HSF off, scrape off that pink stuff they put on there, and replace it with some arctic silver 3, that should be good for atleast another 2-3C drop.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Take the case pff and try and get hold of a large household fan, have that blowing into the case, shoudl reduce temps quite a bit

--Jakk:t

[Harshu]

Ya placing another fan may solve the problem but u see the temp readings r when one side of the Cabinet is opened. So the CPU is getting the best amout of ventellation it can get (till its inside the case). Ya i can try changing the thermal paste. But here there is another problem. How to remove the Heatsink. The is locked so hard that the lock does not move at all. Last time i try to remove it at my friends PC the white plastic on mobo from where the loack of Heat sink is attached got broken.
It there any possibilty that the CPU is faulty. Or the mobo.

[Harshu]

One thing more the Summer here is at its starting point. The temp will reach to a 45-47 C mark in a month or so. I think this will fry my CPU.

[2penguins]

I'm in Australia, people in the UK and US really wouldn't understand your problem because they don't get the high temperatures like we do.

You may have a double whammy because of the high humidity in some parts of India.

There is a way to improve the ambient temperature inside the case. Mount a 120mm fan on the side of your case blowing directly onto the CPU cooler.

I did this to the case I'm using now (Aopen HQ-08 Tower) and the CPU temperatures dropped from 20-25 degrees above ambient to 12-17 degrees above ambient.

I would recomend a Mains power fan instead of a 12VDC fan because they tend to be a bit less noisey and less of a burden on your PSU. (mine is a 240VAC unit hooked to a light dimmer to control the speed :x )
Please don't do it yourself unless you really know what you are doing!!! Don't take a chance on killing yourself. :)
If you aren't qualified then use a 12VDC unit instead.

Cheers

[elroy]

I would switch the present fans so that they all exhaust. Then look at the cpu heatsink/fan. As mentioned earlier I would remove the present heat transfer paste or pad and replace it with some decent paste, something like artic silver or replace the cooler altogether. I believe your problem is coming from the cooler not the case or case fans.

[ukulele]

You are not getting a good flow of air through the case if the temp goes down when you open the side cover. If all the fans were blowing out it would prevent proper air flow. You will need at least one intake fan on the bottom that blows cool air into the case. I would suspect that the cables inside the computer are restricting the air flow in the case. Get them folded up or routed out of the way as best you can. You would probably benifit from rounded cables if available. An additional case fan mounted on the side directed toward the cpu will definately help. A blow hole fan on the top of the case will also help. You might also want to make sure that the computer is not in front of a window that let's direct sunlight flood in on the computer. Also, If you put the case on the floor and make sure it has good airflow around it, it will run cooler.

[Harshu]

Well today i opened the whole case. Cleaned the heat sink by removing the fan. Lots of dust was there at the top of the sink. Blocking the fresh air. Now temp has fallen by 4 C. Now with case open from one side i get 59 C at full contant load. I would like to change the thermal paste but how to remove the heat sink.
Before closing the cabinet i think i have to plug one more fan jst above the CPU.
Can anyone please tell me how to remove the heat sink.

[ukulele]

Before you remove the heatsink get a small artist's brush and clean the dust off of the rest of the fans, especially the psu fan. If you can get the temps under load below 60C with the case closed on a hot day, you will be OK.

To remove the heatsink on a stock hsf use a small blade screwdriver in the slot on the clip and gently push down and sideways to release the clip. If you use paste use it sparingly. I like the the thermal pads because they fill gaps that paste will not if the mating surfaces are not exactly perfect. The best you will gain with paste and carefully honing the heat sink is a few degrees difference anyway. Why bother? I have seen Athlon XPs run just fine at 65C.

[paul0660]

a well vented case will be cooler than one with the sides off, because hot spots around the mobo will be eliminated. You need to exhaust the hot air, best way is with a 92 or 120mm blowhole on top of the case sucking air out. 2penguins idea is good too, although 120mm is overkill. Also, penguin, US aint UK. Down Under might be hot, but it gets to 44C for a few days here in Northern California every year, and above 40c regularly. We manage to keep the room temp below 28c however, without a/c. cheers.

[2penguins]

Also, penguin, US aint UK. Down Under might be hot, but it gets to 44C for a few days here in Northern California every year, and above 40c regularly. We manage to keep the room temp below 28c however, without a/c.


Well, I'm aware of the weather in the states, I'm origionally from Texas.

There are good reasons for using a large fan over a small one.

Big fans spin slower than little fans so the noise they do make tends to be at a lower frequency, thus less annoying.

Larger fans blow onto a larger area than small fans. The 120mm I have mounted in the side of my box not only forces fresh air in and around the CPU, it also blows fresh air on my video card.

There's a problem with your idea of trying to rid the heat inside the case via an exaust fan (AKA negative pressure)

Using your method requires air to enter the case passively, by the route of least resistance (through cracks, seams perforations in the case) which may or may not draft around the heat sources inside your computer. Even if the air does move around the heat sources it will do so at a very low speed and pressure. Thus the air removes a minimal amount of heat
However by using positive pressure directed onto the heat sources you will increase the air speed and pressure thus removing more heat.

If you don't believe me try this, boil a 1 litre pan of water, place it about 2-3 feet in front of a house fan and measure the time it takes for the water to reach room temerature. Then refil the pan with the same amount of water and bring it to a boil again, but this time place the pan about 2 feet behind the fan, measure the time it takes to cool down again...

Any guesses as to which pan cools down faster.....;)


Cheers

[Harshu]

Well i have to try that water thing. Well i have seen Athlon XP running fine at 70 C. Mine PC works fine at 68. But still its on a very steep side and i will definately damage the processor. Well i will work on some more ventellation after 23 when my final exams r over.
I just got an idea to make a Hair dryer to blow fresh air inside the case. I will remove the coils which produces the heat. So fresh and cool air will be blown inside at a great speed and pressure. A local made dryer will cost bout Rs 300 to 500 i.e. $20 to $25. What do u people think bout this.
The temp is 57 C and case is still open.

[paul0660]

penguin, your imagined water pan setup is faulty. You are actually attempting to blow air at a pressurised space in a computer, not freely past a heated area. Also,were the air ducted past the pan on the way to the fan, per your second example, it would cool fine. I agree that a fan blowing on the cpu/ chipset/vid card area is good, as the heat exchange off those components is more efficient when relatively cooler outside air is present. However, if that air is not removed just as quickly or quicker than it is intoduced, heat builds up in the case.
I have only 2 fans in my case, both 92 mm blowholes running on 7 volts (12 volts to red wire 5 to black) so they are not so loud. I left the slot cover off the slot just below the vid card so that the vid hs gets a flow of room air over it. Air enters the case from there and every other crack, and a nice blast of air emerges from the top. Right now my room is 72F, and the system temp is 78F. If I run the fans full speed system temp will drop to 74-75. If I felt more cooling was necessary I would add a fan as you described, but this has got me through the hottest days here, with a 2100+ o/c to 2250 using a volcano7+ at the lowest rpm (3500).

So, anyway, Harshu has to get the hot air out. Positive pressure does nothing with the exception of limiting the air introduced to the case to filtered air IF you filter it. This can help a lot with dust, but i have not found a filter that does not dramatically reduce fan flow.

[DocEvi1]

Hehe, our weather is known across the world. Having said that we are basking in glorious sunshine and 28C temps for our 4 day easter hols. Glorious, but then it won't last ;)

When my machine gets hot I put a 12" desk fan next to it and put it on full blast maintains a decent temp.

Stefan

[Dracas]

Jeez, and I get freaked out if my processor goes over 38 C...

[Harshu]

Hi there, Well now exams r over so now i can experiment. Heat is on here in India. 43 C now the Max and 28 C the min. Well yesturday i removed the heat sink. Removed the themal compound from there. It really took a hell lot of time to remove it from the heat sink. Just like the chewing gum which has dried for ages. Applied thin..... very thin layer of thermal paste. Named Anabond. Some local brand...... Artic Silver is really difficult to find here. No one ever heard bout it here. Now the temp r very much same. As earlier. Well due to heat Air Cooler have started to work at my home (not the AC). So now temp under load is 53-55 C and 47 C idle. Its PK i think. But i have not closed the case yet. I have to search for an hair dryer also to blow air inside the case.

[2penguins]

I reread your first post and noticed that your fans at the back are blowing in and only the PUS is blowing fan out. The fans at the back should always be exaust fans. A PSU fan is'nt any good at removeing heat from a case and sucking air from the back only recirculates the exaust air from the psu back inside the case. Try reversing both fans so they exaust. Adding another fan in the front or the side will help too.

[AllGamer]

2penguins is right

In my setup

i have 2 case fans blowing Out at the top
plus the PSU makes it 3 fans

then at the place of the CPU, i have 2 case fans blowing IN,

then i have 2 more drive bays fans at the 5.25" bay, sucking air in

and additionally i have another case fan at the front (speaker place), to suck more air in

and finally the CPU fan with Altic silver

gosh the Altic Silver really makes a big difference

the Retail AMD fan sucks big time :D

and well on a last note, i have a Slot fan under the AGP video to Suck Air Out

:t

[tommie b]

i also notice my temps are lower with case closed and properly balanced air flows.(29-35c)

tommie j